Reversible window fan



July 10, 1956 s. J. HElMAN 2,753,787

REVERSIBLE WINDOW FAN Filed Feb. 9, 1953 FIE-.1 M

Y 77"Q' 7Q. twtsga INVENTOR.

Swmsv J. HEIMAN BYQMV 7 A Ito/we United States Patent REVERSIBLE WINDOWFAN Sidney J. Heiman, St. Louis, Mo.

Application February 9, 1953, Serial No. 335,713

6 Claims. (Cl. 98--94) This invention relates to improvements inventilating fans of the type especially adapted to move comparativelysmall volumes of air, as for instance in homes, small ofiices, etc., andhas among its objects the production of such a fan that may be mountedwithin a window casing, will be neat and compact in construction,economical to make and use, extremely easy to install, and which will beotherwise satisfactory and efiicient for use wherever deemed applicable.

One of the principal objects of my invention is to so construct such afan that it may be mounted in operative position in the window opening,and may be adjusted to exhaust air from the room or to draw air from theoutside into said room, to suit the needs and desires of the occupant ofthe premises.

Another object of the invention is to so construct said device that thefan and motor is encased within a housing to protect persons from injuryby contacting the moving fan blades, the entire unit of the fan andmotor and said housing being adjustable as a single entity about avertical axis to have the fan perform either as a suction fan or exhaustfan.

A further object of my invention is to so construct said device that thehousing will be frictionally maintained in any position of itsadjustment about a full circle, there being trunnions extendingvertically from the upper and lower ends of the housing to fit withincooperating engagement with arms carried by the upper and lower ends ofa frame secured to the window casing, and with easily adjustabletightening means for adjusting to the desired degree of frictionalengagement at said bearings.

An added object of the invention is to so construct said device that itwill have a substantially rectangular open frame for securement to thesides of the window casing, preferably to that portion of the casingthat is within the room to be ventilated, the width across said framebeing less than the horizontal spacing between the sides of said casing,so that there will be a space or opening to one or both sides of saidframe, between the latter and the casing.

A still further object of my invention is to provide means to adjustablyclose said side opening, in a novel and simple way, so as tosubstantially seal off said opening after the device is installed readyfor operation, and to permit unsealing said opening whenever the needtherefor arises. This is accomplished by constructing the said framewith upper and lower arms slidably horizontally extensible from andsecured to said frame, with horizontally elongated slots in said arms todetachably receive the upper and lower terminal ends respectively, ofsaid side-opening closure means.

Many other objects and advantages of the construction herein shown anddescribed, will be obvious to those skilled in the art to which thisinvention appertains, and as will be more'clearly set forth in thedescription.

In the drawings, wherein like reference characters represent like orcorresponding parts throughout the views,

Patented July 10, 1956 Figure 1 is a perspectiveview illustrating thedevice as mounted in operative position, as seen from inside the room inwhich it is mounted, showing the fan for blowing air into the room at anangle to the plane of the window;

Figure 2 is fragmentary view of the frame and housing, partly insection, showing the manner of adjusting the frictional engagementbetween the same;

Figure 3 is a fragmentary perspective view of one corner of the framemember, with portions broken away, to show the curtain plates inadjusted operative position to substantially close off the side openingbetween that side of the frame and the adjacent side of the casing;

Figure 4 is a fragmentary perspective view, showing the relativepositions of the curtain plate and the arm movably carried by the frame,when the said plate is just about to be inserted into or has beenremoved from the slot through the said arm;

Figure 5 is a cross-sectional detail showing the operating position ofthe frame and an arm, taken approximately along the line 5-5 of Fig. 3;and

Figure 6 is a fragmentary cross-sectional detail, showing therelationship of the curtain plate and the cooperating arm, in both thetilted and upright positions of the said arm.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, wherein I have illustrateda preferred embodiment of the invention, A is the window casing havingthe pair of horizontally spaced sides 1-1 and the sill 3 across thelower end. The sash B of the window itself is indicated as beingvertically adjustably movable within said casing in the usual manner.

The ventilating device here shown is adapted to be removably mounted fordrawing air into or exhausting it from a room, and has a mounting memberin the shape of a rectangular open frame composed of the top and bottomelements 4 and 5 respectively, and the upright verti cal elements 6 and7 at the ends of said top and bottom elements to form the substantiallycontinuous or enclosing frame C.

It is to be stressed here that this frame is made to be narrower thanmost of the window openings into which the frame might be afiixed, thisbeing not only for compactness in packaging and storing, and ease inhandling, but also minimizing the strength of the material employed inits manufacture.

Thus, there remains an opening to one or both sides of said frame,between it and the adjacent side or sides of the casing, which openingmust be closed or sealed in order to secure good operating efiiciencyfor the ventilating unit. Y

A motor-driven fan 8 is encased within a suitable housing or casing 9 ofsuch a width that it fits neatly between the said opposed sides 6 and 7of the frame to permit rotational adjustment of the housing through afull circle, on a vertical axis. The top and bottom ends 10, and 11,respectively, of the housing are provided with short axles or trunnions12 projecting vertically therefrom. Upper and lower arms 13 and 14respectively, are fastened at their ends to the upper and lower ends ofsaid frame, to project therefrom at an angle inwardly into the room,somewhat as shown, there being a bight 15 formed intermediate the endsof each of said arms to provide openings to receive the trunnionstherethrough and provide bearings for the latter. An adjusting bolt 16is threaded through each of said bight portions so that the frictionalengagement between said bights and trunnions may be adjusted to thedegree desired. It might'be mentioned that this friction should be madesuflicient to enable the housing with its fan to remain at any adjustedrotational positionafter said adjustment,

regardless of the vibrational. movement ofthe housing in operation.

As previously mentioned, the frame is preferably narrower than the widthof the opening of the Window, so that itis necessary to seal orclosesaid opening to the side or sides of the frame before operating the fan.in the instant construction, this has been accomplished with a minimumof efiort and material, as will now be set out.

To the upper and lower ends of the frame there are adjustably securedarms 17, one such arm extending horizontally outwardly to either side ofsaid frame and adapted to be detachably secured by screws 18 to thecasing, as seen in Fig. 1. Each of said arms 17 is provided with alongitudinally extending slot 19' for nearly its full length. Bolts orfastening screws 2t} interconnect the frame and the arm, passinglooselythrough the slot, as indicated in Fig. 5, which illustrates the relativeposition of the arm and said frame after said fastening means 2% hasbeen tightened, and in which position of assembly, said arm will liesubstantially co-planar with the adjacent face of said frame.

However, when it is desired to adjust said arms, the fastening means 2%and the means l3 if the outermost ends of said arms have been attached,are loosened, thus permitting tilting or partial rotation of said armsabout their horizontal axes, to a position somewhat as indicated indottled lines in Fig. 6 and in full lines in Fig. 4.

A plurality of curtain plates 2i2l2 are used as a set sufiicient toclose off each side opening, such plates being of suitably stiff butflexible material, as of a light gauge sheet metal, each plate having amain portion or body that is approximately planar, and each end of whichis first bent or offset at an angle to said plane, as at 23, and isthence bent and directed to extend approximately co-planar with saidmain planar portion of the sheet to provide a relatively short terminallip 2 substantially co-extensive with the width of the sheet.

To set up the device, the frame is placed on the sill, between the sidesof the window casing, and as the frame is narrower than the width acrosssaid casing, or the Window opening formed by the latter, there will be aside opening to one or both sides between the side of the frame and theadjacent side of the window casingv The set of curtain plates for eachsuch side opening is then interconnected and side-overlapped toapproximately close such opening. Then one of such arms, say the lowerarm, is tightened against the frame, the lower lips of the set ofoverlapped curtain plates then inserted through the slots of the lowerarm to drop slightly until the lips are covered by the rear face of thesaid arm that is below the respective slot, and the fastening means 18then tightened.

The upper lips of said set of curtain plates are then inserted throughthe slot of the upper arm, While in sideoverlapped relation, and whilesaid arm is loosened and partially rotated to approximately thepositions shown in fill lines in Fig. 4 and in dotted lines in Fig. 6,whereupon said lips of the overlapped plates may be snapped past theupper edge of the slot to be partially covered by that portion of therear of the upper arm that is above said slot. Now, the fastening screws20 may be tightened to bring the arm against and co-planar with theadjacent face of the frame, to thereby increase the width of said lipthat is covered by said arm, whereupon said plates will appear asindicated in Figs. 1, 3 and in full lines in Fig. 6. The screw 18 maythen be tightened, and the curtain plates are thus held in operatingposition to effectively seal off the opening aforesaid. Although in mostinstances, the curtain plates will retain" their ad'- justed sealingposition through normal operation of the device, the overlapped portionsof said plates may be additionally interconnected; if so desired; byany? preferred' means, as. by a screw (not shown) through suchoverlapped portions.

If, for any reason, it is desired to remove said curtain 4 plates, say,at the end of the season of. use, the fasteningmeans 18 and 20 areloosened, the upper arm rotated partially about its horizontal elongatedaxis, and the adjacent upper lip sprung outwardly through said slot.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A ventilating unit comprising a rectangular open frame adapted to besecured between the sides of a window casing and being narrower than thelatter so as to leave a side opening between the casing and the adjacentside of said frame, a fan and housing unit mounted in said frame, upperand lower arms horizontally slidably adjustably movably carried by saidframe to be in a vertical plane when they are tightened into theiroperative position and to be movable about their longitudinal horizontalaxes when loosened, said arms having horizontally elongated slotstherethrough and being extendible outwardly beyond a side edge of saidframe for securemeut to the adjacent side of said casing, and aplurality of curtain plates adapted to be mounted in side-overlappingarrangement between said upper and lower arms to adjustably close saidside opening, each of said plateshaving upper and lower end lips thatare offset from the main body of the plate and extend verticallytherebeyond and which lips are insertible through slots in said arms,whereby said lips are normally covered by said arms when the latter arevertical, but when said arms have been adjusted rotationally relativelyof said frame after loosening said lips may be withdrawn from said slotsto remove the plates from the arms.

2. A ventilating unit comprising a restangular open frame that isadapted to be adjustably mounted between the sides of a window casingand which is narrower than the distance between the said sides so as toleave a side opening between said casing and frame thereat, a fan andhousing unit mounted on said frame, upper and lower arms slidablyadjustably mounted on said frame for extenion beyond the sides of thelatter for securement to a side of said casing and having an elongatedslot lengthwise therethrough, fas -ning means securing said arms to saidframe and which may he loosened for subsequent rotation of said armsabout their longitudinal axes, and a plurality of relatively rigidflexible substantially imperforate curtain plates mounted adjacent oneanother in adjustably overlapped relation between said upper and lowerarms to adjustably close said side opening, each end of each platehaving a relatively short lip offset from the main plane of the plateand which lip is insertible through the adjacent arm slot when saidlast-mentioned arm is loosened and partially rotated about itshorizontal axis, and whereupon tightening of said armonto said framewill cause the rear of the arm to cover its cooperating lip to limitwithdrawal through said slot.

3. A ventilating unit comprising an open frame adapted to be mountedbetween the sides of a window casing so as to leave an opening to oneside between said frame and casing, a fan and its housing mountedtogether as a unit in said frame, upper and lower arms movably mountedto the upper and lower portions respectively of said frame so as to beextensible therebeyond and to have their outermost ends secured totheside of said casing, each of said arms provided with a horizontallyelongated slot therethrough, the rear surface of each of said arms lyingsubstantially in a vertical plane when said arms are tightened intotheir operative assembled position, fastening means for securing saidarms to said frame and which may be loosened so as to permit tilting ofsaid arms about their horizontal axes when said arms are not in theirsaid operative assembled position, a plurality of planar curtain platesmounted adjacent one another in side-overlapped relation to andextending between said arms to adjustably' close said side opening, eachend of said plate having, an end lip first directed at an angle to theplane of said plate and thence directed outwardly of the platesubstantially parallel to the plane of said plate so as to define theover-all size of said plate, said lips being co-extensive with the widthof the plate and adapted to be insertible and removable through saidslots when said arms are in tilted position, the lips lyingsubstantially coplanar with the rear of said arms to be sufficientlycovered by the latter to prevent withdrawal of the plates except whensaid arms are in tilted position.

4. A frame adapted to have a fan mounted thereon and also adapted to bemounted between the sides of a window casing so as to leave a sideopening between the latter and said frame, upper and lower armsextensibly secured to the upper and lower ends respectively of saidframe to be projected to said casing side for securement to the latter,said arms provided with slots therethrough extending length-wise,fastening means for securing the inner ends of said arms to said frameand to be tightened to hold said arms in their adjusted extendedposition, and which may be loosened to permit partial rotation of saidarms relatively of said frame so as to bring the upper edge of the slotdownwardly and forwardly along its length, and curtain plates mountedadjacent one another to extend between said upper and lower arms toadjustably close the side opening between the frame and easing, eachplate having a main portion with a lip at each end substantiallycoextensive in width therewith and first directed at each end at anangle thereto and thence directed lengthwise beyond the periphery ofsaid main portion, so that when said arms are tilted subsequently to theloosening of the fastening means the lips may be insertibly removablefrom or insertible into said slots, and when said fastening means are intightened position the lips will be sufliciently covered by said arms inthe region vertically of said slots to prevent withdrawal of the plates.

5. A ventilating unit comprising a rectangular open frame adapted to bemounted in a window opening and to be secured to the sides of the windowcasing and narrower than the width of the latter so as to leave a sideopening between the adjacent sides of said window casing and frame, afan with an enclosing housing unit carried by said frame, upper andlower arms movably carried by said frame for adjustable extensionoutwardly beyond the side edges of the latter and across said sideopening for securement to said adjacent side of said casing, said armshaving elongated slots therethrough, and a plurality of substantiallyimperforate plates having lips at their upper and lower edges, said lipsbeing offset from the main body portion of the plates and whose terminalfree edges define the over-all height of said plates, whereby said lipsare removably insertible through said slots in said arms to close saidside opening.

6. A ventilating unit compn'sing an open frame adapted to be mounted ina window casing and to be secured to the sides of the window casing andbeing narrower than the width of the latter so as to leave a sideopening between the adjacent sides of said casing and frame, a fan andenclosing housing carried as a unit by said frame, upper and lower armsadjustably carried by said frame for horizontal extension beyond thelatter for securement to the adjacent side of said casing and havinghorizontally elongated slots through each of said arms, and asubstantially imperforate plate of substantially planar main bodyportion having its upper and lower edges offset and directed at an angleto said main body portion to provide lips extending beyond the height ofsaid main body portion of the plate -so as to define the over-all heightof the plate, said lips being substantially coextensive in width withthat of said main body portion and detachably insertible through saidslots to provide detachable connections for mounting said plate on saidarms.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,791,494 Fraster Feb. 10, 1931 1,988,810 Ross Jan. 22, 1935 2,228,224Benson Jan. 7, 1941 2,433,104 Eberhart Dec. 23, 1947 2,513,220 VondruskaJune 27, 1950 2,608,148 Shapiro Aug. 26, 1952 2,619,023 Kisling Nov. 25,1952 2,715,495 Se Bastian Aug. 16, 1955

